Welcome to the Party, Pal: Bruce Willis To Star In New Gambling Movie

Bruce Willis has killed about everything that walks the face of the earth. He’s killed Eurotrash bank robbers and the entire Gruber family trees. He’s killed hillbilly rapists. He’s killed ex-US military traitors. He’s killed western mobsters lead by Christopher Walken. He’s killed aliens lead by Gary Oldman. He’s killed in jungles, in the snow, in space, and is essentially the United States Post Office’s motto for movie murder. I mean, he’s even killed an asteroid. The one thing he hasn’t faced yet? Being +400 in Las Vegas . Yippie-ki-yay motherlucker!

The movie, titled Lay the Favorite, Take the Dog, chronicles the events of the book Lay the Favorite: A Memoir of Gambling by Beth Raymer. Raymer moved out to Las Vegas as a twentysomething, befriending Queens-born gambling operator Dink Heimowitz (played by Bruce Willis) who ran away from the troubles he created for himself as a bookie. The film will chronicle her adventures with Dink and their motley staff of misfits as they funnel serious loot through their Vegas sports betting operation. Much like the title suggests, you will be sacrificing a sure-fire hit at the cinema and taking the dog by going to see the movie.

While this seems like just another canned Willis film being plopped onto a movie reel then expedited out for summer audiences, I’ll be reserving my excitement for Rounders 2. The quintessential gambling movie, if you haven’t heard of Rounders, then you aren’t worth the time to explain it to.

It was reported by both Variety and Entertainment Weekly back in December that Miramax and Weinstein Co. would begin filming sequels for many of their successful franchises, most notably Clerks, Bad Santa, and last but certainly not least, Rounders. With films like Lucky You, All-In,  and Deal devolving our human race with their cheesy, mundane Mad Libs poker scripts, this comes as a much needed Extra Strength Tylenol to the collective unconscious of loyal fans and avid poker players world-wide.

Rounders has stood the test of time and is arguably the most authoritative poker movie ever produced. While their are certainly many other notable gambling films, nothing has quite come close to replicating the allure surrounding it. Don’t place your bets down on Lay the Favorite, Take the Dog; Rounders 2 is the only prospective film that could ever come close.